temperatures across the u.s. plunge as this monster ice storm puts millions at risk. i'm brooke baldwin. the news is now. as the world mourns an icon, washington didn't always see nelson mandela as a saint. america's unemployment rate drops, but will conservatives give president obama credit?

plus -- ♪ whiskey river >> willie nelson pugglled out oa gig at sea world after cnn's explosive film on killer whales. >> and when twitter bikes and critics sting. carrie underwood's version of a classic hits a nerve. we have a lot to talk about here on this friday. i'm brooke baldwin. thank you so much for joining me. let's begin with this dangerous and deadly winter storm affecting millions of you all across the nation today. this freezing storm hitting from texas, all the way up to new york, you see the map here. the system causing flight cancellations, dangerous driving conditions, and now deaths. three adults have died in car accidents in both oklahoma and texas as a result of this storm system that you're looking at here.

and in arkansas, one man died after a tree fell on his camper during the freezing rain. you know, ice can bring down the tree limbs and power lines when the accumulations really start piling on and getting thicker. people in the dallas-ft. worth area know that all too well today. around 250,000 customers are without power as i speak. that is where alina machado is. ted rowlands is live for us in memphis, and jennifer grey here in studio 7 at the severe weather center. alina machado, to you, what a couple of days make. from 80 degrees down to a lot of ice and snow where you are. >> it was 80 degrees here in dallas on wednesday. this is clearly a completely different story. it was sleeting and there was freezing rain for a good chunk of the morning. for most of the morning, and this is the result. take a look at this chair. frozen. lots of ice. it's been out here all day with

me. look at the chunk of ice on it. frozen bushes, trees. the roads are slushy. barely anybody out here. downtown dallas is essentially a ghosttown. and this isn't the only thing that's going on here. we know there have been flight cancellations. the airport's a mess, the roads are a mess. and really, this is all about people trying to stay home, trying to stay out of this weather if they can. we know that at least one person here in the state of texas, in hockley county, texas, died yesterday because of this storm. so this is really a very serious situation here, brooke. >> stay warm to you and your crew, for us in dallas. let's head to memphis. ted rowlands is standing by there. ted, how bad is it where you are? >> well, all day until about an hour ago, brooke, it has been raining in memphis, which has been good. right now, we're seeing the mix of ice. this morning, we drove into arkansas, about 45 miles from here. that is where it's all ice.

they have been getting the ice all day long, and it was treacherous and slow going on the roadways. we saw a couple spin-outs. there you're seeing the power lines with ice, the trees with ice. it is in arkansas where you mentioned the man died after a tree fell onto his camper. and right now, memphis is bracing for the exact same as we speak, this rain is turning to that dreadful ice. and as alina said, downtown dallas is pretty much desertede memphis hunkering down for what could be a long couple days and nights. >> let's broaden this out. jennifer grey in the cnn weather center. where is the worst of it? what should people expect this coming weekend? >> luckily, it's going to push out after tonight, but we have another round of this coming later in the weekend that we're going to talk about. right now, seeing ice and freezing rain, of course, in memphis. that stretches all the way up through places like cincinnati. still seeing the big old swath of snow as well. in dallas, it is over for you,

but it's still on the ground. and temperatures aren't going to get much above freezing for the next couple days, so you have to worry about it staying on the ground. it is going to stay slick and slushy for you in dallas for the next couple of days. here's a look at some of the snow reports. in arkansas, we had a foot of snow, so we also saw amazing sleet accumulations. 3 to 3 1/2 inches of sleet in places like texas and also mineral wells, texas, had the most at 3 1/2 inches. so that's going to stay on the ground for a couple more days. you can expect those power lines will be strained for the coming days. this is going to quickly pick up some steam and move on out late tonight. so we do have a break on saturday. but the next system will be just on its heels, and that is going to be here by sunday. could see more ice accumulations in places that have already seen it, brooke, so this could be the beginning of a one-two punch over the next couple days. gr thinking of those marathoners

in dallas. i can't say i have ever run 26.2 miles, but layering is key, i hear. thank you very much. we'll check back with you later. let's talk economy. the new government jobs report has turned out to be an early holiday gift for us in the u.s. with the unemployment rate at its lowest since 2008. look at the number in red, 7%. last month, 203,000 jobs were created, beating many economists' expectations and more importantly, the numbers behind this jobs report show that the hiring isn't just for those $9 an hour jobs, but also for higher paying positions. let's talk about this with our senior economist at bloomberg government. and christine roman, who stayed up for us and we appreciate you, christine. cnn chief business correspondent and host of "your money." christine, first to you. we know november means holiday shopping for most of us, if you think ahead, which means seasonal workers. when we look at these numbers, did the government adjust for that? >> oh, yeah, and i'm going to

tell you this is a pretty broad-based jobs gain. it wasn't just bartenders and waitresses, not just stocking the shelves. it was broad based. you look at warehousing and transportation, those jobs, $24 an hour. you saw big gains there. also in manufacturing. i like how broad-based the gains were, and i also like the trend. that's why so many people are saying this is the best report in four or five years. i have five years on the bar chart. you can see we're crawling out and have almost crawled out of that terrible, terrible hole. that's the unemployment rate, the best since 2008. the bar chart shows you you're almost out of the hole. 1.3 million jobs to go and we're going to be back where we started. you see how horrible it was, late 2008 to 2009. it's taken 45 months to get our head above water, but we're almost there. there are some folks who will tell you, be careful, don't get too excited too soon, but we are on track for the best year of

jobs gains since 2005, so that shows you just how much better this is than it has been in previous years. >> let's take a look at how the dow jones numbers are looking. we're up. look at that. we're up almost 200 points as we're less than two hours before the closing bell. do you think this is really the thrust behind the market reacting right now? >> well, the market's been down for five or six days. so now it's rebounding and good news. for a while, we have seen the market rebound on bad news because bad news meant the federal reserve was going to keep pumping money into the stimulus. it's nice to know that the stock market is now properly aligned with main street and they're reacting to the strong numbers and encouraging jobs numbers. encouraging but clearly not out of the woods yet. >> christine, you know, you say we're not totally -- our heads are beginning to bob above water, use your metaphor, in terms of long-term unemployment, there are still millions of them.

people are still suffering. >> 4.1 million to be exact. you'll hear a lot of cynicism from people who have been unemployed for a long time, and they say it doesn't feel better to me, and they're right. the white house pointed out in its statement about the jobs report that all of the benefits, that lower unemployment rate has settled to 7% because people who were newly unemployed had found jobs. it's a tale of two job markets. the people who have recently been unemployed, things are looking much better for you. long-term unemployed, still the same story. >> thank you for joining me. a quick reminder tolife all of. christine will have more. tune in saturday "your money" 9:30 eastern on cnn. >> from profests to prison to the presidency. we're celebrating the life of nelson mandela. south africa declaring ten days

of mourning for their most cherished leader. as world leaders, including president barack obama, the first lady, make plans to travel to south africa for the memorial, mandela's body will lie in state at government buildings in pretoria until his burial. that's december 15th in the village where he grew up. next, we will go live to johannesburg for the latest on what could be one of the biggest gatherings of world leaders to remember the man who helped shape a generation. a subaru...

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nonprescription itch medicine plus moisturizers to help heal skin fast. cortizone-10. feel the heal. committed your life are still alive. whether there's ideas in the air, and everything that happened showed that we have not sacrificed in vain. >> nothing nelson mandela did was in vain. he negotiated an end to apartheid. helped black and indian south africans out of a barely human

existence and dismantled a police state, all the while inspiring a generation. >> the day he was released from prison, he gave me a sense of what human beings can do when they're guided by their hopes and not by their fears. and like so many around the globe, i cannot fully imagine my own life without the example that nelson mandela set. >> he lived this extraordinary life of belief in this simple principle of fighting discrimination. this extraordinary struggle of all those years in prison, and then the immense triumph against adversity in all he achieved for his country and to inspire people around the world, and throughout all this, this extraordinary generosity and sense of forgiveness he had for those who had done him so much harm. and that was the real privilege of meeting him. >> right now, south africans are taking to the streets. >> nelson mandela. >> nelson mandela.

>> ten days of mourning to remember a man who changed their way of life. we expect the memorial rituals to include western traditions and those of his native clan. his ancestral leaders are believed to be with his body right now, and they're expected to stay there with him, explaining to his body everything that's happening over the course of the next ten days. then on the tenth day, that's december 15th, his burial, it will take place in qunu, in the south african hills where he spent his childhood. for now, though, his body has been taken to a military hospital in pretoria, and no public events are planned until early next week, when tens of thousands of mourners are expected to pack a johannesburg soccer stadium for a public memorial service. let's go to johannesburg to our senior international correspondent there, arwa damon, surrounded by so many there outside of mandela's home in a

johannesburg suburb. although removed from politics, mandela remained this moral center. tell me what the reaction has been there to his death. >> reporter: you know, we're just outside of his johannesburg home, as you're saying, and it was back there that he did spend his final moments. the crowd here has been growing as the night has progressed, but it's a crowd that first came here just as soon as they heard that nelson mandela had passed away. people coming, expressing their sorrow, but also celebrating the man who really truly transformed this country in a way that few could have ever imagined possible. now, nelson mandela had been sick for quite some time, so people in a certain way were perhaps prepared for his death, yet so many of them still telling us that it did come as a shock, that they're still struggling to deal with all of the various different emotions that they're going through. many of them saying that there are actually no words to express

what one man has done to truly fundamentally change this country. earlier in the day, when we were on our way here, we met a young black university student. and he had a really profound message,ec exclamation, when it came to what nelson mandela's life legacy and death meant to him. >> nelson mandela means a lot to me, right. for me, the way we are now today, able to -- i had a privilege to go to school with the white people. i had an opportunity to also go to one of the best universities, which is right here. and for nelson mandela, for me, i mean, i can't even explain how -- i can't even talk, how can i explain about this? i'm very -- you know, very heartbroken. >> what do you think about it,

brooke? in the days of apartheid, this was a white neighborhood. for blacks to come here, they had to get a special permit. when you look at the diversity around us today, you really see how far the country has come. the diversity, the unity that nelson mandela was able to create, most certainly reflected in the crowds around us tonight, brooke. >> hearing the noises, the chanting from the crowd, it almost seems less mourning and more celebrating the life of a legend. thank you, and please stay tuned. coming up next hour, i'll be honored to speak to dr. martin luther king's daughter, bernice king, who will join me, who has stories to tell about meeting nelson mandela and specifically about the trip she took with her mother to south africa for his inauguration when he became president. do not miss that next hour. in the world of weather, freezing temperatures across the country. tennessee and arkansas have already declared states of emergency. ahead of what is shaping up to be a severe winter storm. we will tell you what to expect heading into this weekend.

but next, the sound of music live. did you watch this last night? millions of people did. and a tidal wave of tweets slamming the musical immediately flooded twitter. was it really that bad? we'll discuss. next. ♪ (train horn) vo: wherever our trains go, the economy comes to life. norfolk southern.

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well, the numbers are in. and the sound of music live is sounding like a huge hit. ♪ cream colored ponies and crisp apple strudels ♪ ♪ door bells and sleigh bells

wild geese that fly with the moon on their wings ♪ ♪ these are a few of my favorite things ♪ >> classic, don't you just know every word? the live telecast of the musical adaptation drew more than 18 million viewers. that was nbc's biggest non-sports thursday since the finale of e.r., but the production of the three-hour event was $9 million. nischelle turner joins me now. i tell you, nischelle turner, looking at my twitter feed, people paying their respects to nelson mandela or hating on carrie underwood. i guess she can take the hate to the bank, huh? >> yeah, and first of all, there's always going to be haters talking about something, brooke. there's going to be undoubtedly somebody who says that nischelle turner, i hate her hair. there's always going to be haters, but there was a lot of backlash last night over this

live event. it's interesting because so many people watch this broadcast. nbc's biggest live broadcast for a number of years, since 2009. i think you mentioned. so a lot of people watched. there were a couple people who did talk about it on twitter. i'm going to read a couple of them. bear with me, carrie underwood. kelly philips said, did nbc forget there would be parts where carrie underwood doesn't sing and we'd have to watch her talk these words? also, another. some of the acting is pretty bad, but you can't have everything. now, the interesting thing is i did speak with some writers, and actually, our own brian stelter before this broadcast on thursday night, brooke, and one thing we talked about was nbc was taking a really big risk because carrie underwood, we know she's a good singer, but can she act? you did have to act in this. it wasn't all singing. you had to act in this live broadcast as well.

>> maybe since the numbers were so great, maybe we'll see more live shows from nbc. hey, here's to stepping out of the box, i suppose. nischelle turner, thank you very much. >> absolutely. >> coming up, the one and only willie nelson will be joining me. he is pulling out of a concert at seaworld weeks after the cnn film "blackfish" aired. we'll ask him why. coming up next, more on nelson mandela's legacy and why washington didn't always see him as a saint. did you know he was on the terror watch list until 2008? we'll talk about that next. there are seniors who have left hundreds of dollars of savings on the table by not choosing the right medicare d plan. no one could have left this much money here. whoo-hoo-hoo! yet many seniors who compare medicare d plans realize they can save hundreds of dollars. cvs/pharmacy wants to help you save on medicare expenses. talk to your cvs pharmacist, call,

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welcome back to cnn. bottom of the hour. i'm brooke baldwin. talking today about nelson mandela. a beloved hero to so many around the world. five years ago, he was still on america's terror watch list. he faced serious criticism for embracing armed violence in his

battle against apartheid. he shocked the world when he -- look at this, hugged cuba's communist leader, fidel castro, onstage in 2001. these are two magazine covers. on the left, an older, smiling, wiser mandela. on the right, an illustration of a younger mandela on the new yorker, raising his arm, a passionate protester. he embraced so many different ideologies in his 95 years on earth. a peace broker, a warrior, an idelistach fighter, a pragmatic negotiator. i want to bring in julian, who joins us, and robert franklin, mo morehouse president emeritus. gentlemen, welcome to you. and julian, first to you, and before we talk, i wanted to quote this great piece out of the daily beast this morning. this is this opinion piece. quote, now that he, nelson mandela, now that he's dead and

can cause no more trouble, nelson mandela is being mourned across the idealogical spectrum as a saint, but not long ago in washington's highest circles he was considered an enemy of the state. unless we remember why, we won't truly remember his legacy. let's start in the '80s. what was it about ronald regan? he saw mandela as such as threat. why? >> by the '70s and '80s he was seen as a threat in two different ways. the first was he had been involved in an organization that had supported aggressive tactics to end apartheid. it had been deemed a terrorist organization by the south african government. and some americans picked up on that. and the second was the accusation that he had received money from communists to support his causes. so this overwhelmed the actual cause that he was struggling for. and became a source of controversy during the '80s.

>> dr. franklin, last time i saw you, you had come back from south africa. this summer, and you had sort of paid your respects in a sense over the summer when you were there, but as part of the enlication world, i'm curious if you worry at all that our college classrooms and secondary education will sanitize a little bit of nelson mandela's story, not tell the full picture. >> i hope not. i hope the college professors and administrators will insist we tell the whole story. we don't have to idolize nelson mandela. we can present him as the ful - fully-fleshed human being with all his noble qualities and his flaws. i think the interesting thing that he illustrates is moral leaders often go to places that are unlikely, and unexpected. they develop relationships. they initiate conversations. that upset the equilibrium in order to produce justice, in order to catalyze change. i think that's what today's millennials can college students

around the country are interested in. authentic leaders who keep it real. >> talk about upsetting people. julian, back to you, talking about during the bush administration in 2003 when nelson mandela made the statement in regard to the iraq war. as he said, president bush has romanticized justifications as far as why the u.s. was involved. he said, all he, being president bush, all he wants is iraq oil. so how did washington -- how did that relationship evolve then with nelson mandela? >> well, there was two sides to it. he was extremely critical of president bush in the iraq war, and obviously this anger at the bush administration. he also was very supportive and praising of the aids initiative in africa, which was one of president bush's biggest measures. i think that thawed some of the relationships over time, and mandela made some more favorable statements. even though he remained highly critical of iraq. that is the complexity of him in

modern times, as he was always complex in earlier times. but always with the pursuit of racial justice as a guiding motive for his career and his life. >> and dr. franklin, so many people are remembering this man, but there are the younger generation. they say, apartheid, what's the apartheid? how would you explain to people in their teens, their 20s, that the struggle, the hate, that nelson mandela fought against? >> apartheid was the most vicious, extreme form of race-based, color-based segregation that one can imagine. and nelson mandela went to prison for over 25 years protesting that system, and together with movements of people around the world, black, white, and every background and religious identity, came together to struggle against and ultimately dismantle that system. i have to say that nelson mandela admired atlanta a great deal. he came here in the '90s. >> he did. >> visited my alma mater,

morehouse. >> haonorary degree. >> many universities participated in that wonderful promise. one of the things mandela admired was the role of business leaders in atlanta, forging new partnerships between black and white, hispanic and asian. he admired the coca-cola corporation, the moral leadership in atlanta from dr. king and joe young, the education community, the atlanta education center, and other places. he said atlanta has leadership, and south africans need to model themselves on what they see 457enning here and other places in the states. >> we'll talk more about dr. king. we'll talk to bernice king next hour. she can share some of the memories she has with this incredible man. robert franklin, thank you. and julian, my thanks to you as well. coming up, the draw for positioning in the 2014 world cup happening today. where did team usa lant? we'll explain that to you, the significance coming up.

also ahead, we'll talk to the man, willie nelson. but we're talking about how a change.org petition caused him to cancel one of his shows and how killer whales figure into all of this. don't miss this conversation with willie nelson live. stay with me. hey kevin...still eating chalk for heartburn? yeah... try new alka seltzer fruit chews. they work fast on heartburn and taste awesome. these are good. told ya! i'm feeling better already. [ male announcer ] new alka seltzer fruits chews. enjoy the relief! yeah. i heard about progressive's "name your price" tool? i guess you can tell them how much you want to pay and it gives you a range of options to choose from. huh? i'm looking at it right now. oh, yeah? yeah. what's the... guest room situation? the "name your price" tool, making the world a little more progressive.

and now to some of the hottest stories in a flash. rapid fire, roll it. >> it was draw day in brazil for next summer's world cup. the u.s. men's soccer team better be up for revenge. they were drawn into the so-called group of death.

they were arguably face the three hardest teams in the tournament. germany, portugal, and ghana. ghana, you remember, knocked the u.s. out in the 2010 world cup. that is the very team the u.s. men will be playing in their opening match in june. jay-z just struck his first deal as a sports agent. this is the third largest, by the way, in the history of baseball. yankees star robinson cano signing a ten-year contract with the seattle mariners worth $240 million. the mariners, by the way, haven't reached the playoffs since george w. bush's first year in office. ouch. >> take a look at this. terrifying video. a boeing 777 trying to land at an airport in the uk. but powerful winds forced it sideways before going back up in the air. we're told the gusts hit 50 miles per hour, and passengers -- look at it going back up. passengers on the plane watched the whole thing on live television as they were sitting

on their seats. the plane tried landing twice before diverting to another airport. and just days after that train derailed in new york, killing four people, we've heard the words like highway hypnosis and in a daze, when it comes to that operator. even though we still don't know exactly what happened in those crucial moments before that crash, cnn's chris freights gets a behind the scenes look in the front of a commuter train. >> as passengers rushed through their morning commute, engineer jeff klein scales 12 feet into this locomotive and gets ready to take responsibility for hundreds of people's lives. with a throttle and two brakes, klein alone controls this 1 million pound behemoth in his three-hour run. and he's got a lot on his mind. what were you watching coming out of the station? >> signals. crossings. crossing protection, the gates. pedestrians.

speedometer. >> spileting a seven-car train 100 miles through 18 suburban chicago stations, klein has to be able to divide his attention among signals, sounds, and safety. about how fast are we going? >> 60 miles per hour. >> and how long would it take to stop? >> controlled stop, like coming into a station, probably take about four tenths of a mile. >> that would take almost a full minute. then there's the dead man pedal, designed to stop the train if the engineer is unresponsive. >> that was the dead man pedal. if you move your foot off it just the wrong way, it will start to sound that sound you heard, and then it will stop the train. >> to get the feeling of what it's like to control the rolling caravans, we headed to modock railroad academy and talked to

instructor david wrangle. >> today, the passenger locomotive engineer is being asked to do so much ever than before. he's asked to do the job of two or three people. this is the cab. >> but there's something no amount of training can prepare an engineer for. fatigue. >> we're dealing with humans in the cabs of those locomotives, and we have frailties. >> back on the rails, making the return trip to chicago, klein says he's got too much to worry about to be distracted. >> again, there's always something going on. the alerter is going off. everything that's happening in front of you, it's -- for me, it's not real easy to lose concentration. >> and now he'll grab some rest before doing it all over again in just a few hours. every day, hundreds of engineers are traveling on thousands of miles of track. and driving a train is a lot like playing chess. you have to think several moves ahead. only, you have to do it at 70 miles per hour. chris freights, cnn, chicago. >> chris, thank you very much.

coming up here, the man, the legend. mr. willie nelson. he has just canceled a gig at seaworld in orlando after hearing about the cnn film "blackfish" on killer whales in captivity. we'll talk to him. i will ask him why he pulled out of the park, next. in the nation, sometimes bad things happen.

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music legend willie nelson

definitely known for making music, using music to make a statement. now he's sending a message by not singing. nelson is cancelling a february performance set for seaworld, orlando. and this decision comes after this petition showed up on change.org. we have been checking it today. more than 9,000 people have signed it, asking willie nelson to not sing at seaworld because of the revelations from the cnn film "blackfish" that's the documentary that traces 39 years of killer whales in captivity leading up to a seaworld orca traini killing in traitser in 2010. willie nelson on the phone with me now. willie, thanks for calling in. i appreciate you very much. this is what seaworld told us, willie. that scheduling conflects led to you cancelling your show. i want you to tell me, why are you cancelling that gig? >> well, as you said earlier, i had a lot of calls from people

asking me to cancel. i understand there's petitions going around with thousands of people's names on it, so you know, i had to cancel. i think also, i don't agree with the way their treat their animals. so it wasn't that hard a deal for me to cancel. >> tell me about that. tell me about how you feel of the notion of these animals, these whales, being held in captivity and performing for audiences? does that bother you? >> i feel the same way about all animals in the zoo. i have been to zoos where the monkey in the zoo, i don't blame him for wanting to throw stuff at you. all that stuff is hard on animals. it's cruel, and i understand there are some natural habitat zoos out there, which is probably okay. what they do at seaworld is not okay. >> willie, i know you've got grandkids. have you ever been to seaworld, taken the kids to seaworld before? >> no, i haven't, but i also

have -- i had one of those petitions was from one of my great grandkids, who had about 250 names of people she knew asking me not to play the venue. >> wow, great grand kid. what was seaworld's response to you because it was a couple days ago we learned the bare naked ladies pulled out for the same reasons. seaworld offered to them, hey, come to our facility, let us show you a tour. we would like to show you that nothing nefarious is happening. is there anything, willie nelson, seaworld could do or say to you to change your mind? >> no, not really. i've already been convinced this is not -- you know, i don't want to play there. and it's the end of the story. >> end of the story. willie nelson, thank you so much for calling in. i appreciate it. >> thank you, brooke. good talking to you. >> good talking to you, as also. coming up here, just in to us at kn kp, a new twist in the heist of a truck carrying

radioactive material. the suspects have been on the loose, but here's the twist. six people are now sitting in a hospital for radiation exposure. hmm. plus, nearly a week after paul walker's tragic accident, word of an arrest involving the scene where he died. stay with me. you're watching cnn. [ male announcer ] this is george. the day building a play set begins with a surprise twinge of back pain... and a choice. take up to 4 advil in a day or 2 aleve for all day relief. [ male announcer ] that's handy. ♪ of their type 2 diabetes with non-insulin victoza®. for a while, i took a pill to lower my blood sugar,

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that's why we created the share the love event. by the end of this year, the total donated by subaru could reach 35 million dollars. you get a great deal on a new subaru. we'll donate 250 dollars to a choice of charities that benefit your community. it feels good to be a helping hand. we celebrate just remarkable individuals working to help other. our top ten cnn heroes of 2013, and this sunday, we follow 2010 cnn hero dan wallrath as he continues to build futures for wounded veterans struggling to

create new lives after service. operation finally home airs this sunday at 8:00 eastern, and here's a sneak peek. >> there's over 50,000 wounded veterans we have now. one of the biggest challenges is transitioning from military life to civilian life. i have my good days, my bad. at first, there were a lot more bad than there were good. i can't change what happened. >> if i could wish everything back, i would. but i can't, so why let it get me down? i'm 24. i want to be able to live by myself and to be able to do everything i need to do by myself. >> i built custom homes for 30 years. back in 2005, i did my first remodel for a wounded veteran. god put a passion in my heart to help these families. >> this apartment that i live in, it's not set up for my needs. the doors aren't as wide as they should be. the bathroom isn't as big as it

should be. some of the shelves are too high. >> you know, these young men and women need a lot of help. unfortunately, i don't know how to help in a lot of areas, but i do know how to build a home. >> kind of bugs me at night when i go to sleep. it's like, well, what's next, is the big question. to me, what's next is getting a house, going to school. and finding a career. everything is kind of on hold until i get a place that is mine. temperatures across the u.s. plunge as this monster ice storm puts millions at risk. i'm brooke baldwin. the news is now. as the world mourns an icon, the daughter of martin luther king jr. joins me live on what nelson mandela meant to her. plus, ted cruz compliments mandela on his facebook page,

but his followers aren't too happy. caught on video, powerful winds force a plane to go sideways while trying to land. and just days after paul walker's tragic accident, an arrest is made involving the scene of his death. hour two, i'm brooke baldwin. we begin with this dangerous, deadly winter storm affecting millions of you across the country today. this freezing storm for sunday's dallas marathon to be canceled a short time ago. much of the storm moved out of the area, but 250,000 are still without power there. and now this chilling storm is expected to spread to new york, causing even more flight cancellations there. and dangerous driving conditions. look at this. not easy at all. three people have in fact been killed in car accidents in both oklahoma and texas, as a result

of this system. and in arkansas, a man died after a tree fell on his camper during the freezing rain. back to dallas, where ed lavendera is standing by. we also have today jennifer grey in the severe weather center. but ed, to you first. this is a huge deal. just news that they are cancelling this marathon. has it ever been canceled there? >> reporter: the dallas marathon has never been canceled. that was supposed to take place on sunday. there's a holiday parade, the children's medical center holiday parade which is another institution event here in dallas as well. that was supposed to happen tomorrow or on saturday, that has also been canceled for the first time in its history. so this storm, even though the rain has stopped, what we're left with, with the remnants of this storm, it will last for several days. we have been spending a lot of time driving around the dallas area today. the good news is that most people have stayed off the roadways. and the conditions on the road, i found them not to be

absolutely horrible, and they were very dangerous. there have been a lot of people on the roads. but for the most part, visit many businesses and schools have closed for the day. that has kept a lot of people off the roadways. a lot of slush is what i found on the roads. the problem is the temperatures are below freezing, expected to stay that way for some time. that will allow that slush to refreeze, so the roads are really going to be something to watch for over the next couple of days. that will take time to get back to normal. this storm, the weather is incredibly cold and is really kind of changing plans for a lot of people over the next couple days. >> history made, cancelling the marathon for the first time. i can't imagine running on the streets, looking at the pictures. jennifer, to you, we're talking not just one but two storm systems here at play. >> we'll get a brief break on saturday, but then by sunday, things are going to start to pick up again. just as ed said, things are looking better in dallas as far as no more ice and sleet falling from the sky, but we are still seeing a mess on the roadways.

and it's not going to get above freezing for the next couple days. you can plan on things to stay pretty icy there for the next few days. seeing snow through st. louis, memphis, cincinnati still messy at this hour, and rain across the southeast. look at these temperature differences, though. 74 in atlanta. 32 in memphis, so very balmy across the southeast. and then the north, very, very cold. almost a 100-degree difference between new orleans and great falls. so very cold across the north. still seeing snow, ice watches and warnings. winter weather advisories across a large portion of the states, and then we're going to continue to see the system lift out. it will start to push out pretty quickly as we get into the overnight hours into tomorrow. we'll have a break on saturday. but then the next system on its heels, already making its way into places that have already seen ice over the past couple of days. this could just add insult to

injury as we go thru the next several days, brooke. >> jennifer grey, thank you very, very much. and ed lavendera, of course, to you as well. let's talk economy. the new government jobs report has turned out to be an early holiday gift for the country with the unemployment rate at its lowest since 2008. there it is, right there in red. 7%. last month, 203,000 jobs were created, beating many economists' expectations, and the markets are happy. we have been watching the dow jones fluctuating not too much. still up just about 200 points with about an hour left to go. trading. white house also happy. but republicans -- republicans refer to the 11 million americans still without work. here we go. congressman pete sessions here. this is what he says. while any job creation is welcome news, today's jobs report serves as a reminder that far too many americans continue to be unemployed or underemployed and this from house speaker john boehner.

quote, today's report includes positive signs that should discourage calls for more emergency government stimulus. instead, what our economy needs is more pro-growth solutions to get the government out of the way. that is why the house has passed dozens of jobs bills. speaker boehner. let's talk to candy crowley, our chief political correspondent and host of "state of the union." and candy y ae kroy crowley, the spin. let me show you the shock face. not shocked at all. is it possible ever -- and this could go either way, depending on what party is in office, but the republicans just not given president obama any credit, are they? >> well, no. and probably won't, but i have to say that democrats, including senator harry reid, who is the majority leader in the senate, also noted that unemployment is still too high. 7% is still not great. it is better. it is better, and largely democrats have said, hey, this

is -- you know, i can't remember what month it is, but there have been many months where jobs have been created instead of going away. so they put that out there. and they use it -- remember, budget talks are going on right now. >> yes, yes, yes. >> what's the struggle? the struggle is, you know, how much money are you going to spend on what and whether any revenues are going to be raised. both sides have used in their press releases, used it as a way to say, see, we need more job draekz. to democrats, maybe it means morph spending or investments, and to rns, that means, we don't want to spend more money. we want to let the private sector loose. you see it on both sides. >> let's look at the pulse of the nation, if i may. this is a recent cnn/orc poll. this is what it found. 59% of those surveyed thought things were going quote/unquote badly in the country. i'm curious if part of that has to do, and i wads talking about that with rona from time

magazine. she said, hey, listen, i think some of the skepticism is how people feel about congress. that government shutdown is recent memory. >> exactly, and that's one of the reasons further than you and i thinking, whoa, i wonder what congress is going to do. there's also companies who look at that and they don't want to make big decisions and lots of hires. there's some of that that goes on. but there's also, i think all this sort of new talk, although it's a very old issue, about the income gap, certainly plays a part in the right track-wrong track as another way to put it. >> president obama talking about it the other day. >> but the fact is the situation's gotten worse in the last three years. more than 90% of the income increases over the past three years have gone to the top 1%. so it's possible that you have -- look, these are great numbers. but the fact is that a lot of people are not feeling it, even

if they have a job. so i don't think that it's just the jobless rate that people look at, because only jobless rate that counts is the one in your household. a lot of people may have a job, but it's not enough of a job, or it doesn't pay enough, or it's only part-time, whatever it is, and that's why you see the differential between, hey, look, the jobless rate is going down, and people going, i think we're on the wrong track. >> candy crowley, the brilliant candy crowley, thank you for joining me. tune in for stre"state of the u" at 9:00 in the morning. >> here's breaking news we have to get to now. as we reported a couple minutes ago, as many as six people taken to a hospital in mexico for radiation poisoning. think of the timing here because this happening days after that truck was stolen carrying that radioactive material. we're hearing about this after a lead from twitter. so rafael romo joining me here. people were wondering, we can't

say conclusively these are the badifies in the hospital, but timing is maybe not a coincidence. >> major development. what the state run news agency in mexico is saying that out of the six people, two are in custody of the federal police. >> they are. >> which might indicate we have no confirmation yet, but it might indicate that those two are the suspects described by the driver of that vehicle that on monday morning was stolen from this location near mexico city, about 44 kilometers north. now, in total, six people, all six showing symptoms of radiation. all being treated at the same hospital. but again, the question is, are those two in the custody of the mexican federal police the two people who stole the truck on monday and are they going to eventually face charges for this? >> let's go back for a second, remind people. you touched on it, but here you have this truck carried, what was it, cobalt 60? >> it originated in tijuana. it traveled all the way to central mexico and got stopped

near mexico city where it was stolen when the driver stopped to get some rest at a gas station there. immediately, the iaea and mexican authorities issued an alert saying we have some missing cobalt, which as you know, it is very toxic. it is very dangerous. it's used for radio therapy. it's also used for sterilizing food because it contains a high level of gamma rays, which have the property of cleaning the food but not damaging it. and so there was an alert, an international alert, because the u.s. homeland -- the u.s. department of homeland security also issued an alert, alerting all the checkpoint stations at the border, just in case anybody tried to smuggle that subresponse into the united states. >> a truck with radioactive material stolen. there you go. six people now in the hospital. we'll stay on it, get an update on the people. thank you very much. coming up next, today,

remembering an icon who shaped a country and a generation. from world leaders to folks like you and me, many are honoring nelson mandela and his legacy today. next, i am honored to talk to a woman who has a unique perspective on mandela's impact. she's bernice king, the daughter of dr. martin luther king jr. she has amazing stories to share about mandela's life, meeting nelson mandela, going to south africa. we get to hear from her next. also ahead, a man warrested for what he allegedly did near the spot paul walker crashed. we'll teyou why he is now facing charges. before using her new bank of america credit card, which rewards her for responsibly managing her card balance. before receiving $25 toward her balance each quarter for making more than her minimum payment on time each month. tracey got the bankamericard

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♪ nelson mandela >> today, south africa is in mourning for an icon who changed his country and really the world. >> the fact that he did it all with grace and good humor and an ability to acknowledge his own imperfections only makes the man that much more remarkable. as he once said, i'm not a saint unless you think of a saint as a sinner who keeps on trying. >> nelson mandela's message of reconciliation and not vengeance inspired people everywhere after he negotiated a peaceful end to the brutal segregation of black south africans.

and urged forgiveness for the white government that oppressed them and imprisoned him. world leaders including president barack obama, they are making plans to travel to south africa for the memorial. mandela's body will lie in state at government buildings in pretoria until his burial on december 15th in the village where he grew up. and as a testament to mandela's ability to touch lives, let me read you a quote. outside of jesus christ and my parents, he is the one. these words from bernice king, the daughter of one of america's most influential figures of social change, dr. martin luther king. a man who struggles and accomplishments in a world away in a sense paralleled those of mandela's. bernice king joins me to talk about it. such a pleasure. nice to have you on. >> thank you, brooke. glad to be here. >> let's begin with when you were 27. it was 1990, and that was the

year mandela was released, and you had this realization as a 27-year-old, this man had been in prison your entire life. >> my entire life. >> your entire life, and you decide to go to south africa because you wanted to hear him speak. what were you listening for? >> well, i was listening for any traces of anger, any traces of bitterness, because i was still wrestling at that point with a lot of anger and bitterness in my own life because of my losses. and i just knew this man had to have some. and so i told my mom, i wanted to go to the inauguration. and she said, well, she can't afford to pay for it, and i told her at that time because i had been doing some public speaking, i said, i'll pay for it. i did just that. my own money, and i went to the inauguration with my mom and my brother, martin. and for me, it was so transforming. i mean, it was the beginning of

my healing journey because i saw a man that spoke from a place of love and harmony and peace, and you know, i didn't hear, you know, behind any kind of anger, any kind of resentment. he was able to rechannel all that into a much more positive and a productive way to bring about this peaceful transformation, and healing a nation that desperately needed it. and expeditiously needed it. >> healing a nation, and is sounds like, healing you a little bit as well. you have said, bernice, dr. king, we all know, dr. king is a hero to many, but nelson mandela was your hero. you were at the white house during the clinton administration, and you talked about, you know, it's not quite the same, i suppose, hearing your father speak, with his booming voice and that of nelson mandela's. but their presence is similar. >> their presence. their presence is very much similar. i mean, i remember when he was in my mom's office at the king

center. my mother hosted the trip that he took to atlanta. and he came to the king center, and our family had an opportunity to sit with him just a little while. where just remember that his peaceful presence filled that room. and he didn't have to say a whole lot. i mean, because his being just spoke so much. then again, when i was at the white house during the clinton administration, you know, you want to hear what he has to say because it's like, this man has paid a dear price. and he has conducted himself, as my father would say, on the higher plain of dignity and discipline, and you can't help but want to hear what he has to say. >> everyone knows, everyone knows who dr. martin luther king is. but i tell you, bernice, there are many young people who have no idea nelson mandela, let alone, what the apartheid was. i would love to ask you, in speaking to the younger generation currently, how would

you explain the situation that nelson mandela fought, to help young people understand why we're talking about him, why he's such an icon? >> well, you know, i try to sum it up this way in the words of my mother. she said, struggle is a never-ending process. freedom is never really won. you win it, and you earn it in every generation. and even though they may not be able to identify with the particular struggle of nelson mandela or martin luther king jr., there are particular struggles we live in this generation of time, and that they need to draw strength from those in the past and lessons and examples from those in the past that they can utilize in their current life situation to make a difference in the world because we've all been placed here to make a difference, to serve humanity, and make us into a greater nation and ultimately a greater world. >> bernice king, truly a pleasure. thank you so much. >> thank you. i appreciate it, brooke. >> you got it. >> a horrific crash.

you have seen the mangled car. now we're learning a man was arrested for what he allegedly did near that crash scene. that's next. [ male announcer ] progresso's so passionate about its new

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someone stole a part of the wrecked porsche that "fast & furious" star paul walker was in when he died. that theft happened saturday. police arrested an 18-year-old man. they have identified another suspect who is expected to surrender to authorities. the two could be charged with theft and tampering with evidence. and cnn is going in depth tonight on the paul walker death investigation. here's a clip now from paul

walker, a life in the fast lane. >> outside of the hollywood game, walker was deeply involved in the world of fast cars. and even raced with a hollywood club. >> what's up, paul walker. >> it wasn't just "fa "fast & furious" where he found his love of cars. >> in 2010, paul walker started dabbling in semiprofessional racing. he was a total auto head. he owned always evolving, an auto shop that appealed to the car junky paul walker was. >> but paul was much more than a car junky. he was also deeply committed to humanitarian relief. in 2010, he took a team to haiti, helping in the aftermath of the major earthquake that devastated the small nation. >> we asked a bunch of people

what they thought we should bring. >> he knew you had to do something. no one knew what to expect, but he was bringing medical equipment, water filtration, and he was going to do what he could. when they got there, they did so much. for the first time, they were able to set up a hospital in an orphanage. and the experience that he came home with after that was, i have the opportunity to do something very special. >> and walker wasn't afraid to get his hands dirty. >> you talked about the fact he went to alabama to help with victims of the tornadoes. lots of people talk about things they care about. he actually did something. >> paul walker didn't just talk the talk, he walked the walk. he cared about other people and he went and helped them. >> want you to watch "paul walker, a life in the fast lane" tonight at 10:00 eastern here on cnn. coming up next, a cold snap sweeping so much of the country, but the weather is not just

impacting flights and the roads. california's $2 billion citrus industry is threatened. next, we'll hear from farmers explaining what steps they're taking to try to save their crops. plus, a new movie showcases the life of nelson mandela. and it doesn't sugar coat some of the more controversial things he did during his life. how is his family reacting to that? you may be surprised. stay with me. [ paper rustles, outdoor sounds ] ♪ [ male announcer ] laura's heart attack didn't come with a warning. today her doctor has her on a bayer aspirin regimen to help reduce the risk of another one. if you've had a heart attack, be sure to talk to your doctor before you begin an aspirin regimen. and our giant idaho potato truck is still missing.

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you're watching cnn, top of the hour. i'm brooke baldwin. back to the one-two punch of wintry weather. it's an ice storm, a system that moved from dallas where we learned sunday's marathon is canceled. they have never canceled the dallas marathon in the city's history. that's something that's happening. in memphis, nearly 5,000 customers are without power right now. and this thing, it's spreading to you, new york. we're told four people have died because of this weather, and this is just one storm. another winter storm system is hitting the west. it is threatening california's $2 billion citrus industry. cason wien has more on that.

>> reporter: the first real blast of winter comes amid harvest season at glass ranch. what percentage of your crop would you say you've got harvested so far this year? >> we're probably close to 40%. >> there's more urgency this year because freezing temperatures are threatening the family's 7,000 acres of oranges and other fruit. and california's $2 billion citrus industry. >> it's not just how cold it gets, but the duration of time. we haven't lost anything yet. and i don't think we're going to. i think if we do our frost protection right, get our water, get our wind machines, get everything, we got a good game plan, and you know, we're supposed to get a little breeze here tonight, and i think we're going to beat it. >> growers in california's central valley are on edge, staying up all night to monitor temperatures dropping into the 20s, when they spring into action. this is a wind machine, powered by a six-cylinder caterpillar

diesel engine. it creates an inversion layer of air that raises ground temperature a couple degrees. >> it's powerful for 10 to 15 acres. >> growers also warm the ground by saturating it with water. they must do that before the pipes freeze. >> putting moisture in the ground generates warmth. >> it's a tricky job that he refuses to delegate to anyone else. >> i have a great crew with me, but no, hands on. you have to be out here. >> so far, despite temperatures in the low 20s, so good. >> you can cut the fruit, check for damage. this is unscathed. it's perfect. >> growers here have spent nearly $7 million battling freezing temperatures. he said he hasn't slept in three days. >> next week, it's going to be a tough one, but i think we're going to beat it. >> which means you're less likely to see higher prices at the supermarket. >> a little bit of updated information. growers here in the central valley now say they have spent

$12 million on frost protection efforts. it got down as low as 23 degrees last night. some of these groves do not have those wind machines we showed you in the piece. they're so expensive, $40,000 apiece, so some of the growers have resorted to using helicopt ers to accomplish the same effect. >> casey, thank you. ♪ nelson mandela ♪ nelson mandela >> in south africa, ten days of mourning to remember the man who changed their country and influenced the world. by the looks of the celebrating, a life. nelson mandela was the prisoner turned president who helped end racial segregation and do away with white minority rule in

south africa. instead of anger against those who oppressed him and imprisoned him, he chose forgiveness. my colleague is a close friend of the mandela family. you're south african. you were a television anchor there for a decade. you have shared a stage with nelson mandela and you were just there last week. >> i spent the morning with winnie mandela and her granddaughters. and i said, how is he doing? and they said, the same. and of course, we know he's been gravely ill. so he had tubes down his throat, draining the fluid from his lungs, but i don't think they realized death was this imminent. we didn't speak too much about that, but we spoke about the new film, long walk to freedom, starring idris elba. i have to share with you one of my favorite clips. >> let's watch.

>> you are the first black social worker i have ever hired. and you're the most beautiful girl i have ever seen. >> you're different. >> winnie loved the movie. she thought naomi harris captured her mannerisms and her walk. when i spoke to one of his daughters, she liked the movie because it was one of the first movies who highlighted her mother's role in the struggle. today, we have been interviewing people who fought the struggle with mandela. but sometimes we overlook winnie's role in the struggle. she's a somewhat controversial character, but the family really hoped that naomi harris gets an oscar. they love idris elba. who doesn't love idris elba, but they were laudatory about the movie. >> look at the pictures of you, and from his family to the tribe. he's known as mudeeba.

>> his second name means one who shakes the tree. otherwise trouble maker. he was somewhat of somebody who shook things up, but what we're going to see, brooke, is up until maionday, no public ceremony. on monday, a public memorial at soccer city. that's the place that mandela made his last public appearance. what's going on right now is something called the eye closing ceremony. it's here that elders of the tribe are with the body of mandela. >> talking to the body. >> tay talk to the body and the ancestors. they help the transition of the body to the afterlife. there's a zulu word that says go slowly, go carefully, and we hope that the spirit of nelson mandela goes carefully. >> thank you so much. incredible pictures and that you were there a week ago. >> a week ago. >> thank you. as reaction is pouring in really from all around the world, celebrities are speaking

out and remembering the nelson mandela they came to know as well. >> he certainly had an impact on my life and certainly my father. i think that timeframe in which he -- when he came out, could have -- the country could have fallen apart. it could have gone a lot of different ways, and he led it to where it's at now. you know, and the world's going to miss him. >> extremely sad and tragic news. we just are reminded of what an extraordinary and inspiring man nelson mandela was. and my thoughts and prayers are with him and his family right now. >> it's really sad day for us, and you know, we're going to miss him enormously, but he's left a hell of a legacy. you know, you can come out of murder, injustice, you know, racism, enshrined in a constitution, and then turn to those very people responsible and invite them to build a

rainbow nation with you. you know, you don't see that now. they don't make them like that anymore. >> i want to remind you, 5:00 p.m. eastern tonight, bill clinton will be giving his thoughts on the life of nelson mandela. do not miss that interview live with wolf blitzer in "the situation room." coming up next, we're hearing about one of the richest contracts in sports history. so why are we showing you video of jay-z? we'll explain what the hip-hop mogul did that he has never done before. plus, don't like flying? yeah, after watching this, you won't like it even more. video of a plane trying to land. did it happen? you have to wait for it, next.

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if the u.s. men's soccer team ends up winning next year's world cup, you might say they cheated death. it was draw day in brazil for next summer's world cup. the u.s. men's soccer team were drawn into what's dubbed the group of death. they will be facing arguably the three hardest teams in the tournament. you have germany. you have porchigate, and you have ghana. laura from cnn sports joining me, and welcome, welcome, welcome to cnn. awesome having you on. talk to me first about this league of death and how this is not looking good for us. >> the group of death, also the group. >> the group of death. >> the group in the world cup or any tournament like this where the toughest teams that have been drawn together. this year, we're looking at, there could possibly be two groups of death, but most are saying the one the u.s. has been

drawn into is definitely the group of death. if we take a look at ghana, this is a team -- >> didn't go well for us last time? >> didn't go well for you last time or the time before that, either. there's a lot of history involved with the usa and ghana. ghana, it's a really, really threatening team. they have a lot of big, well-known players. a tough, fast paced team, but i will say but, the usa, they play a very tough, fast-paced style of soccer, too. they should be able to take care of them. >> team usa coach, very familiar with germany. could that give us an advantage? >> or a disadvantage, i have to say. >> why? >> jurgen klinsmann used to be the head coach of germany. the head coach of germany in the 2006 world cup. he was also a player on the german national team when they won the world cup in 1990. it must be awfully difficult to have to play against a team that it's your team. that's your country, your home. it will be definitely an interesting match.

>> you brought me a soccer ball. >> i did bring you a soccer ball. >> why? what's so special about this? >> this is the brazuka. this is the match ball for the 2014 world cup. every world cup has a different ball. and in 2010, it was called the jabulani. that ball, absolutely dreadful. >> people hated it. >> flew through the air like this. a keeper's nightmare. they say this one is infinitely better. they have tested it with over 600 top players. it will fly straight, and the shell of it doesn't absorb moisture, which means it will be kept lightweight if it gets well. >> hopefully we do well with the brazuka. nice having you on. and here is something you won't hear very often. the yankees may have just lost a bid for a free star agent. the free agent, robinson cano, and the seattle mariners have agreed to a ten-year, $240 million contract.

that's not nothing. the deal came just hours after talks between cano and his agent jay-z and the mariners had broken down. cnn's rachel nichols is with me. nice to see you, my friend, by the way. jay-z, with his sports agent hat, if reports are true, this contract is huge. >> yeah, it's nice to see something finally going well for jay-z, isn't it? right? >> rough gig for him. not doing well at all. >> exactly, so finally, he gets a little money in his pocket from the agent commission. but in all seriousness, this is a very good deal for robinson cano. ten years, $240 million. that's the third richest contract in baseball history. and it is actually very good for jay-z, because this is his first major deal in his relatively new business, being a sports agent. so he got cano this blockbuster deal that sends a clear message to other big-name athletes, you want to go with jay-z, because he will walk into the room and strike you a good bargain.

the question is, is this good for the seattle mariners? they paid $70 million more for him than the yankees were offering. that seems a bit like overpaying. plus, it's a ten-year contract. you know, alex rodriguez in new york is on a ten-year contract with the yankees. and that hasn't worked out so well. you sign up for a decade with a player, it's a long commitment. we'll have to see how it works out. >> just do the math and the commission for jay-z, since he's really hurting, as you point out. let's talk about your show. you have landed amazing guests. kobe bryant, he injured his oscil achilles in april. ready to make his return to the court. you sat down with him. what did he tell you? >> he's not going to play in the lakers game tonight, but could come back as early as sunday, and he said he's able to move around. he feels very good out there, but he thinks he may have to shift and adjust his game a little bit, which is interesting for a guy who's been in the league for 17 years. we also talked about his

contract. he got a lot of criticism for his mega deal. not quite as much as cano's but he's the highest paid player in the nba, when he's 37, tlat. and he defended the contract to me, saying, hey, if someone offers you a bunch of money, are you going to turn it down? he said he diant think it was fair that players are put in the position to take less for the team. he'll talk about that, and he talked about the recovery from the achilles injury. he said there were very dark times. he talks about the fact that he seriously thought about retiring. he gets very emotional at one point. very interesting. >> we'll be watching "unguarded" rachel nichols tonight, only here on cnn. thank you very much, rachel. >> thanks. and coming up, this is what's coming up here on cnn. coming up, planning a flight for the holidays? you may not want this pilot in charge of your plane. actually, this is not the pilot's fault. we'll tell you why the plane is having such a tough time. up and down. what's going on here? that's next.

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music legend willie nelson is known for making music to make a statement, but now he's sending a message by not singing. he's canceling a february performance set for sea world orlando and this decision comes after this petition showed up on change.org. we have been checking on this today, more than 9,000 so far have signed it asking willie nelson not to sing at sea world in the wake of the revelations from blackfish, the cnn film documentary that traces 39 years of killer whales in captivity leading up to a sea world orca killing its trainer in 2010. just last hour, i talked to willie nelson about why he stopped his show. >> i had a lot of calls from people asking me to cancel, and i understand there are petitions going around with thousands of people's names on it. so you know, i had to cancel.

and also, i don't agree with the way they treat their animals. it wasn't that hard a deal for me to cancel. >> tell me about that. tell me about how you feel, the notion of these animals, these whales, being held in captivity and performing for audiences. does that bother you? >> i feel the same way about all animals in the zoo. i have been to some zoos that were, you know, the monkey in the zoo, i don't blame him for wanting to throw stuff at you. all of that stuff is hard on animals, it's cruel and i understand there are some natural habitat zoos out there which is probably okay, but what they do at sea world is not okay. >> sea world told cnn scheduling conflicts led to nelson's canceling of a show but you just heard him for yourself. just 24 hours after the death of nelson mandela, republican senator ted cruz is facing an online backlash to his facebook posting honoring the icon. cruz wrote this. nelson mandela will live in

history as an inspiration for defenders of liberty around the globe. he stood firm for decades on the principle that until all south africans enjoy equal liberties, he would not leave prison himself, declaring in his autobiography, freedom is indivisible. the chains on any of my people are the chains on all of them. the chains on all of my people are the chains on me. because of his epic fight against injustice an entire nation is now free. we mourn his loss and offer our condolences to his family and the people of south africa. that was from ted cruz on his facebook page. nelson mandela no stranger to controversy. he was on a u.s. terror watch list up until 2008, because of militant activities in the fight against apartheid. mandela once reached out and hugged cuba's fidel castro. here's that video, from 1991. castro, you know, a communist. also, mandela meet with libya's moammar gadhafi in 1997. jake tapper joining me now, host

of "the lead." so jake, what are some of -- we read the posting on ted cruz's facebook page. what are some of the people posting back? >> well, some context here. anybody who has ever perused the comment section of the internet knows that it's essentially the bathroom wall of the internet, where people write -- >> good way to put it, tapper. >> the meanest, anonymous things they can. what's interesting about this is that these are criticisms from conservatives and ted cruz quite often does not anger conservatives, but some examples from his facebook posting include let's not forget that mandela called castro's communist revolution a source of inspiration to all freedom loving people. that's from mike. sad to see you feel this way, ted. he was a terrorist. i guess you have only seen the hollywood movie, said tom. stunned to see you support this scum bag.

he was a murderer not to mention a communist. that's from a delightful gentleman named derek. we should also put in context the following. there are nearly 6,000 likes on ted cruz's facebook page for what he said, so a lot of his friends on facebook or supporters did approve of it. that's actually more likes than president obama's statement on his white house facebook page which is not surprisingly, much more popular than the ted cruz facebook page, given that he's the president. also, at the white house page, you can find a lot of nasty invective but you expect that conservatives would lash out against president obama, not so much against ted cruz. >> sure. but do we think, to use your metaphor of the proverbial bathroom wall of the internet, do we think ted cruz is reading this stuff and responding? >> well, there is a response from his office, which is mr. mandela deserves to be remembered and honored for his

sacrifices in pursuit of freedom, for the oppressed and his historic achievements to that end. that's from a spokeswoman, ka katherine frazier. he's aware there has been a negative response from some conservatives. he got similar not as negative, but some negative response when he supported the gillibrand amendment that had to do with sexual assault in the military, a complicated bill we can talk about at another time, but he also got brush back from conservatives on that. >> we'll watch you tackle this and other stories coming up in five minutes. i'll let you go. jake tapper on "the lead." thank you very much. have you seen this video? i know you're all tweeting what happens to the video. we will tell you, next. are you flo? yes. is this the thing you gave my husband? well, yeah, yes. the "name your price" tool. you tell us the price you want to pay, and we give you a range of options to choose from.

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all right. we get to the plane. here we have this boeing 777 trying to land in an airport. this is the united kingdom, birmingham. powerful winds force the jet to tilt sideways. it's trying to go down, starts to go down, and there it goes again back up in the air. we are actually told that the gusts hit 50 miles an hour at one point and a lot of planes have tvs, a lot of passengers are sitting on this plane watching this whole thing live on television from their seats. the plane actually tried landing

twice before diverting to another airport. how about that. well, that is it for me. i'm brooke baldwin. thank you for watching me on this friday. back on monday, we will see you then. in the meantime, "the lead" with jake tapper starts right now. who touched the thermostat? the nation's thrifty dads cry out as cold grips the u.s. i'm jake tapper. this is "the lead." the national lead, below zero temperatures, great. a potentially catastrophic ice storm? wonderful. this is the perfect weekend to stay inside, assuming you'll still have electricity. the money lead. the closing bell rang just seconds ago on wall street as a new jobs report exceeded expectations, has the economy finally, finally taken off? and the world lead. former president jimmy carter joins us to eulogize nelson mandela, the south african freedom fighter has been canonized for his acco